THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, Wl
Business Day
©be JfrUr JJork Stmcs
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
' be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users to
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stored
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they want, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer-
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of items in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not loo little,"
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees to retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can shai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm silting in San Fran-
cisco, I may noi know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over Ihe
Interne!, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Government-spon- 1
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being. improved and. turned to
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized lext is small but growing, ac-
cording to industry analysis. In 1989,
the United States had fewer than
60,000 users; by the next year, tolal
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects ihe
market to grow lo 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starting to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — - known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsylems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In ihe future, a special directory or'
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Dectronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
§ource; Thinking Machines, Corpoo,^.
Home
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date
list of all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its' own electronic library
project, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from Ihe movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including the ability for a user lo de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said (hat in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part of a comput-
er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the
Internet computer network logically
lower Ihe cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes lo expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
work, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, evertliing
could change overnight," said Tim
Oren, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
SftciNrtugorkSnncsJ
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users tu
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stored
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they want, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer-
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of items in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not too little,'-'
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees to retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can sliai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran-
cisco, I may not know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the
Internet, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Government-spon- 1
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being, improved and . turned to
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized text is small but growing, ac-
cording to industry analysts. In 1989,
the United Stales had fewer than
60,000 users; by the next year, total
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects the
market to grow to 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starting to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment. •
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In the future, a special directory op
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Electronic text
Ibrarle*
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
Source; Thinking Machines Cojpo/a.,
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date
list of all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its own electronic library
prujeel, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including the ability for a user lo de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said that in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part of a comput-
er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the
Internet computer network lo greatly
luwer the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes to expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
work, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, everthing
could change overnight," said Tim
Oren, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
<EI)r Jfeur jjjork Simes
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Puge
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter inc. and the KPMG Peal Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WaIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users tu
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stored
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they wanl, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer:
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"'This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of iterns in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not loo little,"
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1 .0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees lo retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can shai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran-
cisco, I may not know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the
Internet, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Government-spon- '
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being, improved and 'turned lo
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized text is small bin growing, ac-
cording to industry analysts. In 1989,
the United States had fewer than
60,000 users; by the next year, total
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects the
market lo grow to 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starting to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In the future, a special directory or-
Spreading information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Electronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpora.....
SmaH
business
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date
list of all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its own electronic library
project, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including the ability for a user to de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that lei custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said that in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part of a comput-
er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the
Internet computer network to greatly
lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes lo expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
work, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, everthing
could change overnight," said Inn
(h en, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 19S9, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter Inc. and the KPMG Peal Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users to
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stured
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they want, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer-
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of items in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not too little,"
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory*
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees to retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can shai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran-
cisco, I may not know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the
Internet, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Goven\ment-spon- '
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being. improved and. turned to
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized text is small but growing, ac-
cording to industry analysts. In 1989,
the United Slates' had fewer than
60,000 users; by the next year, total
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects the
market to grow to 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starting to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsylems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In the future, a special directory or»
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Electronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
$ource: Thinking Machines. Corpora —
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date
list uf all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its own electronic library
project, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including the ability for a user to de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said that in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part of a comput-
er's uncrating system.
They expect improvements in the
Internet computer network logically
lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes to expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
wurk, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, everthing
could change overnight," said Tim
Oi en, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, mi
Business Day
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Puge
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users to
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stored
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they want, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer-
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of items in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not too little,"
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees to retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can shai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran-
cisco, I may not know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the
Internet, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Goveniment-spon- '
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being. improved and- turned to
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized text is small but growing, ac-
cording to industry analysts. In 1989,
the United Stales had fewer than
60,000 users; by the next year, total
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects the
market to grow to 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starling to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In the future, a special directory or"
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Electronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpot......
tiome
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date
lisl of all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its own electronic library
project, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from Ihe movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including ihe ability for a user to de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said that in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part uf a comput-
er's operating system.
They expect improvements in Ihe
Internet computer network logically
lower Ihe cost of informal ion
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes to expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
work, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, everlhing
could change overnight," said Tim
Oi en, tin Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, mi
Business Day
Sljc JfrUr Jjork SimfS
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries
Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide
data network will allow personal
computer users to tap sources as
large as the Library of Congress or
receive their own personalized elec-
tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth-
er, have already demonstrated that
searching vast computer data bases
can be easier than consulting a card
catalogue, and not nearly as difficult
or expensive as computer searches
are today. Computer users might
read some Dickens more readily than
they could check out David Copper-
field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users
with little computer skills will soon be
able to search through several tera-
bytes of information, or several tril-
lion characters of text, in seconds.
The Library of Congress, with 80 mil-
lion items, contains an estimated 25
terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com-
puter library has linked 150 universi-
ties to 40 sources of information,
ranging from National Institutes of
Health data to corporate documents
and Shakespeare's plays. New soft-
ware allows users to browse or zero
in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa-
tion are standardized and perfected,
industry executives and computer
scientists say, thousands of new serv-
ices, ranging from electronic newspa-
pers to the computer equivalent of
free public libraries, will blossom.
"Everyone is realizing how impor-
tant it is to get into the mass market
for information," said Thomas Koulo-
poulos, president of Delphi Consulting
Group, a Boston market research
firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts
of computerized information has
been the dream of many in the indus-
try. But a lack of computing power,
effective software and high-speed
digital networks has stalled progess
until recently.
If many of the technical problems
are being solved, major business and
political disputes remain. The re-
searchers acknowledge that they
must resolve several questions of pri-
vacy and pricing before they can put
the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like
government documents, might be
available free, but other services, in-
cluding electronic newspapers, will
be available only to those who pay.
The industry has yet to settle on ways
to protect and charge for intellectual
property in a computer network
where information can be copied in-
stantly. But to encourage progress,
the Thinking Machines Corporation, a
Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer
manufacturer, has made its software
available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the
new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development
team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a
nationwide computerized library system. His team's
software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the
Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data
highways, the two machines can function together
although they may be thousands of miles apart.
, , , || ' | ■ II ' ^
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is
sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of
the Lotus Development Corporation,
predicts the growth of a new industry
as significant as the personal com-
puter business. Some companies, like
Dow Jones & Company, that already
provide computerized information
over telephone lines have taken part
in developing the new computer li-
brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted
the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com-
puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar-
wick accounting and consulting firm
to design the computer library, called
Wide Area Information Servers, or
WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys-
tem permits computer users to
quickly search through a huge vol-
ume of information even if it is stored
at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct
searches by typing common English
phrases instead of more complicated
computer commands. While current
systems like Dialog and Nexis re-
quire users to specify precisely the
information they want, the new sys-
tem can respond to a user's infer-
ences. It initially presents a sample
list of documents. The user chooses
one or several, and then a "relevance
feedback" program presents other
documents most like the ones select-
ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search
through millions
of items in
seconds.
get to the information you need, get-
ting not too much and not too little,'''
said Esther Dyson, editor of Release
1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way
services operate today, Ms. Dyson
said. A computer user may need to
call seven or eight separate data
bases depending on the kind of infor-
mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of
Apple personal computers harness a
network of Thinking Machines super-
computers and smaller "server"
computers to search data bases
stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev-
eral corporations and universities.
Users can also read electronic mail,
enter their corporate electronic li-
braries and summon up a wide vari-
ety of documents, newspapers and
magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS
system serves as a "corporate mem-
ory," allowing employees to retrieve
memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may
not be working together can shai e ex-
pertise.
"If someone did something in Los
Angeles and I'm silting in San Fran-
cisco, I may not know about the
work," said Robin Palmer, a senior
manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the
Internet, a collection of 2,600 high-
speed public and private computer
networks. This Governmenl-spon- '
sored system of data highways is rap-
idly being, improved and .'turned to
commercial uses.
The market for software that- al-
lows the rapid retrieval of computer-
ized text is small but growing, ac-
cording to industry analysts. In 1989,
the United Slates had fewer lhan
60,000 users; by the next year, total
sales were about $120 million. The
Delphi Consulting Group expects the
market to grow to 160,000 users and
$235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology
is starting to spread from supercom-
puters all the way down to personal
computers," said Brewster Kahle, a
Thinking Machines scientist who has
led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a
procedure for retrieving information
developed by librarians who initially
set out to computerize their card
catalogues. The procedure — known
in the field as Z39.50 — now has the
support of the Library of Congress,
Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next
Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen-
tral.
In the future, a special directory or»
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by
linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound,
words or pictures.
Electronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card
catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpora —
Small
business
"white pages" will keep an up-to-dale
list of all the separate sources on the
network.
Apple has its own electronic library
project, borrowing its name, Rose-
bud, from (he movie "Citizen Kane."
The three-year-old project is based on
the WAIS system, but adds features
including the ability for a user to de-
velop a personalized electronic news-
paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom-
ers specify the kinds of information
and news they want to retrieve from
the WAIS system every day. Re-
searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech-
nology Group said that in the future
the necessary retrieval software
might be a standard part of a comput-
er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the
Internet computer network to greatly
lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction
of many new services. The Govern-
ment proposes to expand and im-
prove Internet by financing a Na-
tional Research and Education Net-
work, or NREN, that could extend a
high-speed computer links into
schools and communities across the
country.
"With things like NREN, evcrlhing
could change overnight," said Tun
Oi en, an Apple researcher.
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
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